Health Risks to Female Workers in Occupational Exposure to Chemical Agents

In 1980 the Directorate-General of Labor, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, the Netherlands, requested the Coronel Laboratory for Occupational and Environmental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Amsterdam, to carry out 'a critical study of literature on health risks to women from industrial and occupational exposure to chemical agents which are different from risks to male workers, or which have only been observed in female workers. ' The principal investigator was Mrs. A. Stijkel, medical biologist; a part of the study was carried out by R. L. Zielhuis, physician. M. M. Verberk, physician, and Mrs. M. v. d. Poel-Bot, librarian, provided continuous assistance. The final report (in Dutch) covering the literature up to and including 1981, was submitted to the government in October 1982. A somewhat abridged and modified English text, updated to include 1982, was prepared. The Editorial Board and the publisher of the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health kindly made possible the publishing of this text in a special issue of the journal. The authors express their thanks to the Directorate-General of Labor, the Editorial Board and the publisher for making this publication possible. We sincerely hope that this report will be of assistance in making the industrial and occupational environment safer. Prof. Dr. R. L. Zie1huis Table of Contents Introduction 1 1 1. 1 Objective 1 Theoretical Possibilities for Extra Health Risks in Female 1. 2 Workers. 2 1. 2. 1 Differences Between Women and Men Apart from Reproduction .